There was a significant downward trend in the intentional self-harm emergency visit rates in Simcoe Muskoka from 2003 to 2009; however, there was a reversal in this trend from 2009 to 2015 which saw rates climb back to what was observed in 2003 and 2004. In Ontario, the rates decreased significantly from 2003 to 2011; however, rates increased significantly from 2011 to 2015. The Simcoe Muskoka rates have been significantly higher than the comparable provincial rates for five of the past six years of available data.

By Sex

In 2015, the age-standardized emergency visit rate for intentional self-harm among Simcoe Muskoka males was 116 (102.5, 130.0) visits per 100,000, which was significantly lower than the female rate of 206 (187.4, 224.6) visits per 100,000. The intentional self-harm related emergency visit rates in Simcoe Muskoka were significantly higher than the Ontario rates for both males and females.

The rate of intentional self-harm related emergency visits among Simcoe Muskoka females declined significantly from 2003 to 2009 before increasing significantly from 2009 to 2015. The male rate for intentional self-harm emergency visits did not change significantly over this thirteen-year time period. The female rates were significantly higher than the male rates for this entire thirteen-year time period.

By Age Group

Emergency visits for intentional self-harm decreases with higher age. The age-specific rate for self-harm related emergency visits between the years 2003 and 2015 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka was highest for youth (10-19 years) with a rate of 217 (212.4, 222.3) visits per 100,000 population, this rate was significantly higher when compared with any other age group over this same period of time. The age-specific intentional self-harm emergency visit rate in Simcoe Muskoka was significantly lower than the Ontario rate for youth (10-19 years); however, it was significantly higher than the provincial rate for adults between the ages of 20 and 64 years.

There was a significant downward trend in the intentional self-harm emergency visit rates among youth (10-19 years) in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 2003 to 2009; however, there was a sharp reversal in this trend from 2009 to 2015 which saw rates more than double over this seven-year time period.

The Simcoe Muskoka youth (10-19 years) intentional self-harm emergency department visit rates are substantially higher for females when compared with males and the gap has been widening in recent years. Simcoe Muskoka female youth intentional self-harm emergency visit rates more than doubling in the last five years from 260 (205.0, 314.9) in 2011 to 620 (532.7, 708.2) in 2015.

By Income

For the time period from 2011 to 2015 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, emergency visits for intentional self-harm was significantly associated with neighbourhood income quintiles, such that those living in the bottom income quintile experienced double the rate of intentional self-harm emergency visits when compared with those living in the highest income quintile.